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Lockyer also described how the state reached deep into its arsenal for a little-known tool to convince Tesla Motors to build its electric sports cars in San Jose.
The Alternative Energy Advanced Transportation Financing Authority had never been used. It allowed the state to waive the sales tax on $100 million worth of Tesla's manufacturing equipment. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called it the best-kept secret in California.
"It was in the drawer somewhere," Lockyer said. "I dusted it off and now we're going to put it to work."
The deal made sense because the amount of money pumped into the state economy from Tesla's plant will exceed the tax break. That won't, however, always be the case.
SAN JOSE
What: City Council
When and where: 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, San Jose City Hall Council Chambers, 200 E. Santa Clara Street, San Jose
TESLA: The council will consider approval of a land deal to bring Tesla Motors' new electric car manufacturing plant to the city.
The important part was here: "Approved ... was a Memorandum of Understanding with Tesla Motors to locate its headquarters and manufacturing facility in San Jose."
Tesla Motors Inc. expects to retain corporate offices in the city of San Carlos while an assembly plant and corporate campus are constructed in San Jose, but the company is not certain of its future in San Carlos after work is completed, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday.
...
"We have never put a time on it officially," Konrad said of moving the corporate base to San Jose. "Our hope is to break ground on the assembly plant next summer, and offices in San Carlos would not be moved until the assembly plant is done."
Konrad said while San Carlos has been a great home to Tesla, the collection of buildings and office spaces downtown are not ideal. Moving operations to one campus will improve communication between departments and other corporate operations, and the lot in San Jose provides enough space for the development, she said.
"Unfortunately for San Carlos, it has been a great home, but the nature of startups is that eventually they need a bigger space," Konrad said.
I may be wrong, but I think it is the deal with the city that is final. The Environmental impact is still forthcoming. I vaguely remember that they expect the impact report to be done to allow them to start building by late Spring or the Summer.
Instead, Konrad said Tesla has applied for about $400 million in two federal, low-interest loans through the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program. It is seeking $250 million for the Model S manufacturing facility and $150 million for an advanced battery and powertrain facility.
The Zanker Road location no longer works because it’s an undeveloped “greenfield site,” and Tesla would build on it from scratch. The federal loan program favors “brownfields,” sites on which factories or plants closed years ago and need to be rehabilitated.
I really hope they can work something out for the Bay Area.Word made it around the Mayor's State of the City yesterday that Tesla's plans may already be dead. According to spies, someone with direct knowledge of Tesla's plans for San Jose was describing how the plans for the 650,000 square foot assembly plant for San Jose have been "abandoned"...
Hopefully they don't end up disappointing California by ending up in Michigan or something like that.
Instead, Konrad said Tesla is now looking and in negotiations for potential brownfields throughout the state, from those left over in Southern California by the aeronautics industry to Silicon Valley sites that housed chip plants, wafer fabrication and technology factories.
“Our thinking is now we want to keep the headquarters in Silicon Valley and the Model S assembly plant wherever it is most cost-effective and most expedient to get the car to market as fast as possible for the lowest cost,” she said.